


The Kids Are Alright: John Entwistle

by foolintherain



Category: The Who (Band)
Genre: F/M, The Who (Band) - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-25
Updated: 2020-08-25
Packaged: 2021-03-06 15:02:02
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 5,908
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26110825
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/foolintherain/pseuds/foolintherain
Summary: "Sometimes, I feel I gotta get away. Bells chime, I know I gotta get away. And I know if I don't, I'll go out of my mind. Better leave her behind with the kids, they're alright."
Relationships: john entwistle/OC
Kudos: 1





	1. Chapter 1

"I still can't believe you're leaving," Maria sighed, looking at Michael in disbelief. Michael nodded sadly as he took a sip from his coffee, quickly setting it back on the break room table. She frowned sadly as she played with the soggy tea bag in her own mug. "I can't imagine Ridgeview being the same without you. You're one of the only sane teachers here."

Michael nodded in agreement, chuckling quietly. "I must confess, I feel bad for leaving you here alone with..." They both looked around the teacher's break room, giving nervous looks to the rest of the teachers. Ridgeview Middle School certainly had an..interesting selection of teachers. Then, they quickly looked back at each other, laughing quietly to themselves. "You know."

"So.. where are you moving? If it's alright to ask-"

"Don't worry," he interrupted her, chuckling softly. She chuckled with him, giving him a relieved smile. "My fiancé and I are moving to France; that's where the rest of her family lives. She said her father can get me a good job teaching music there." He smiled to himself as he took a short sip from his mug.

Maria smiled brightly. "France sounds lovely," she told him, letting out a dreamy sigh. "And they'll be very lucky to have you! I wish you luck with the rest of your endeavors."

"Thanks, Maria! I wish you luck, too," he said to her with a smile. Maria giggled as she tapped her own mug against his, making a quiet clinking sound. Just then, the bell rang, startling Maria and making her spill a few drops on the table. Michael quickly grabbed some napkins and wiped it off while Maria blushed in embarrassment. "Well, my last day teaching in America has officially started."

Maria stood up, grabbing her small purse from the floor and putting it on over her shoulders. "Today's your last day?" she asked him sadly. "You could've at least given me some time to prepare."

He laughed as he quickly grabbed his briefcase. "Sorry about that, Maria. I'll see you at lunch, alright?" As she opened her mouth to speak, he quickly ran out the door to make it to class on time. Maria sighed as she took her mug to the sink, dumping out the rest of her tea. She turned around and was met by her friend and roommate, Sarah.

"Hey Sarah," Maria greeted with a small smile.

"Hey Maria," Sarah greeted, walking out of the break room with her. Maria sighed quietly as she walked, staring off around the halls. Sarah quickly noticed and laughed at her good friend. "What's the matter with you?"

"Michael is moving to France," Maria told her. "And he's one of the only normal teachers we have here! I just don't know what we're going to do without him."

Sarah sighed dramatically. "That's a shame, he was really cute," she said with a giggle. Maria rolled her eyes.

"I really hope you're joking," Maria told her, turning down the hallway with her. She smiled at some of the kids along the way, waving at them. Then, she turned back to her friend with a serious look. "You know the-"

"I know, I know," Sarah interrupted, playfully rolling her eyes. "You know how I am, Maria. No use trying to get me to change." Before she could get a response out of her, Sarah was out of sight in her classroom. Maria sighed as she stepped into her office.

She sat at her desk, setting her purse on the floor next to her feet. Just when she was about to get to work, there was a knock at the door. "Come in!" she said, putting on some reading glasses. The principal, Mr. Adams came through the door. "Good morning," she greeted him with a smile.

"Good morning," he said, sitting at a chair by her desk. "I just wanted to let you know we've found a replacement for Mr. Jones."

Maria gave him a surprised look. "Really? That fast?" she chuckled. She laughed nervously as Mr. Adams just nodded his head. "Well, that's terrific! Can I meet him?"

"Yes, he'll be here first thing tomorrow morning," he answered, standing up from his chair.

"What's his name?" she asked before he could leave.

"John Entwistle."


	2. Chapter 2

The next day, Maria sat at her usual table in the break room, alone this time. This was going to take some getting used to; she and Michael used to have a coffee there every morning and eat lunch there every day. Now she was drinking her tea quietly, looking around the room at the rest of the staff. 

Even before she was hired as the Vice Principal, she had a hard time fitting in with the rest of the teachers. Like she always said, Michael was the only sane teacher there, besides herself of course. The rest of them were strange for many different reasons, some of their senses of humor being one example. Then there were teachers who were just plain weirdos. No better way to put it.

Since then, she's only been close with Michael and Sarah, and she's only had to talk to the other teachers if she had to. (At faculty meetings, class observations, interviews, etc.) She just hoped with everything she had that the new music teacher was normal. Hopefully they could become good friends as well, like she was with Michael. 

Sarah came into the break room, late as usual and sat next to her friend. Maria noticed and did her best to give her a judgmental look, however it lasted for about two seconds and she started smiling. Sarah laughed as she pulled some makeup supplies out of her purse. "Where have you been?" Maria asked her.

"I slept in," Sarah answered, giving her a small smirk before putting on mascara. Maria rolled her eyes playfully. Of course.

"What's his name?" Maria asked, stirring her tea bag around with her tiny spoon.

"Jerry, I think?" Sarah answered, sounding unsure. Maria rolled her eyes once again. "Something like that." Once she painted her lips with pink lipstick, she put all of her cosmetic supplies back in her purse.

"Did you at least enjoy yourself?" Maria asked her with a sigh. They both knew Sarah had a way with the guys, something that Maria was more jealous of than she would like to admit. 

Sarah shrugged her shoulders, looking over at her friend with a laugh. "Yeah, I suppose he was alright," she replied. She furrowed her thin eyebrows and gave Maria a look. "Why, is somebody jealous?"

Maria's cheeks grew pink as she instantly shook her head, making Sarah laugh. "Not at all," Maria lied. "I like being single; it gives me something to look forward to. Besides, we both know I'm not as..good with the guys as you are." 

"There's only one way to find out. You have to at least try." She smirked.

"I just haven't found the right guy." She took a long sip of her herbal tea, which was already cold. She sighed quietly as she took her cup to the sink, dumping it out for the second time that week. 

"You'll find someone eventually." 

The two sat in silence for a while, waiting for the bell to ring. Then, Principal Adams came in. "Maria, he's here," he told her, excitement in his voice. "Our new music teacher is finally here."

Maria's eyes widened. "Really? Where is he?"

On command, a tall man with dark hair and brown eyes came into the room, struggling to carry several large suitcases. He was one of the cutest guys Maria had ever seen; he looked so huggable and kissable. Not to mention, he was so handsome. His eyes were simply beautiful and his s- 

"Maria?" Principal asked. 

Her cheeks grew bright red as she looked away from him and back at Principal Adams. "Yes?" she asked hoarsely. She blushed even more and cleared her throat. "Yes?" she repeated, her voice softer that time.

"This is John Entwistle," he introduced to her. John gave her a sweet smile, nodding his head. She smiled back, quickly brushing some of her hair. "He's come here all the way from London, England."

She stood up and went to him. "Nice to meet you, John," she told him, holding out her hand for him to shake. She groaned internally, embarrassed, as he fumbled around to put all of his cases down carefully on the floor. 

Once he was done setting his cases down, they both laughed awkwardly as he took her hand and shook it. "It's nice to meet you too, miss.." 

"Maria," she told him, smiling bashfully at him. "You can call me Maria."

"That's a really beautiful name," he told her with a smile, making her blush even harder. His British accent was like music to her ears; she could have listened to him talk all day.

At the table, Sarah covered her mouth and snickered as she watched the two of them talk. To her, Maria looked as if she had fallen in love at first sight. It was as if her eyes were filled with hearts, just like in the cartoons. And him? He looked as if he was he was staring at the prettiest girl in the world.

Maria didn't even realize that she was holding onto his hand for a lot longer than she was supposed to. She blushed as she pulled her hand away, looking away from him. Luckily, Principal Adams was quick to speak up. "Maria, would you mind helping him find the music room?" 

"Of course!" she replied, looking back at John. She chuckled as she looked down at his heavy cases. "I can help you with those, if you like."

"Oh, thank you," he said with a smile. She picked up as many cases as could without dropping them to the floor. Sarah gave her a discreet wink, making her roll her eyes. She did her best to open the door while carrying two cases in one hand, holding the door open for him. He thanked her again as she led him down the halls.

"So what do you teach?" John asked her. 

"I'm not a teacher anymore," she answered. "I'm Vice Principal. But before that I taught history."

"Really, Vice Principal?" John asked. "That's very impressive."

"Thanks," she said with a smile. 

"How long have you been Vice Principal?"

"I've just started this year, actually." She led him up the stairs, going a bit slower out of paranoia. The last thing she wanted to do in front of the cute new guy was embarrass herself. Again. 

"Oh, so we're both relatively new to this," he said with a smile, tilting his head toward her. 

She blushed and smiled at him. "I guess we are." It took her a moment to come up with something else to say to him. "How long have you been a musician?"

"Since I was about seven," he answered. "I played piano at first, then moved onto the trumpet and then the French horn. Then the guitar."

"You sound really talented," Maria giggled. 

John just shrugged and chuckled shyly. "I guess I'm alright," he said.

They stayed quiet for the rest of the walk until Maria led him into music room. She carefully set his cases down next to his new desk, sighing in relief. Her hands were cramping a bit from holding onto the handles for too long. "Any questions?" she asked.

"Uh..what do I need to know about these kids?" he asked, laughing softly as he began settling in. 

"Most of them are really nice," Maria laughed. "Just be your cute self and they'll love you." His eyebrows raised a little bit as he smiled slightly. Fuck. Did I just say that out loud? "I mean.." She was cut off when the bell rang. "See you later!" 

She ran down the stairs and back into her office, where Sarah was waiting. She groaned as she saw her friend, sitting down in her chair. "What are you doing here?" Maria asked. "The bell rang, get to class."

"Alright, mom," Sarah mocked, making Maria roll her eyes as a joke. Sarah put on a wicked grin as she scooted her chair closer to her desk. "So...what do you think of the new guy?" 

Maria crossed her arms on her desk as she thought about him. His smile, his accent, his kindness, his charm... "He's alright, I guess," she shrugged.

Sarah scoffed and shook her head. "That's not what I saw in the break room," she smirked.

"Whatever, Sarah," Maria laughed, trying not to blush again. "Even if I was interested, we can't date."

"Why not?"

"It's the rules. Faculty members aren't allowed to date; students' parents could find out and we could get in trouble."

Sarah groaned. "That's why you keep it a secret," she told her with a wink. 

"No!" Maria laughed. "That's not going to happen. Just get out of here, alright? You're going to be late to your own class." 

"Fine." She stood up, heading towards the door. "We're talking about this at home, by the way!" she called out before running down the hallway. Maria shook her head as she got to work, unable to keep John out of her head.


	3. Chapter 3

A few weeks later

"So exactly how long have you two been...together?" Maria asked the couple with a sigh. She should've known her best friend better; there was no way she would last two seconds keeping the rules. Especially if there was a man involved. 

"About a week or so," Sarah answered, holding Jim's hand. Jim was the history teacher that replaced Maria when she got hired as the Vice Principal. He seemed nice enough, but his personality was the last thing Maria was worried about. "It's actually a really cute story, isn't it Jim?"

Jim laughed and nodded. "It really is. Why don't you tell her about it?"

"Great idea!" Sarah exclaimed with a smile. She turned back to Maria with a twinkle in her eyes. "I was-"

"That's not really necessary," Maria interrupted. Knowing Sarah, the story was most likely not very appropriate. She sighed again, trying to hide her disappointment in her friend. She pulled some papers out of her filing cabinet and gave them to the couple. "We just need you to sign these."

The couple looked at the papers skeptically for a moment before taking some pens out. "Is this really necessary?" Sarah asked Maria with a frown. 

Maria gave her friend a stern look. "Yes. You know the rules," she answered frankly. As the couple began whispering to each other as they filled out the documents, Maria swung from side to side in her chair. Trying to look on the bright side of the situation, she realized that it was a good thing that she at least decided to tell her the truth about their relationship. 

Just then, the two of them started to speak up a bit louder. "So, what are you putting for nature of relationship?" Jim asked her. 

"Oh, that's actually what I wanted to talk to you about," Sarah said, laughing nervously. "I-"

"Miss Davis?" the art teacher, Mr. Day asked, knocking on her door. Once she looked up, he stepped inside. "I just wanted to talk to you about the field trip next week."

Maria sighed again. "Actually, can we talk about that later?" she asked him as nicely as she could. "I'm a little bit busy at the moment."

"Of course," he nodded. Suddenly, Sarah caught his eye and he smirked at her. "Hey, stranger," he said to her.

Sarah looked up at him and the color drained from her face. She smiled and laughed nervously. "Hi," she said to him, looking back down at her papers. Oh dear, not him too. 

"Who's this?" Jim asked Sarah, giving Mr. Day a nasty look. Maria bit her lip nervously as she watched the three of them. 

"He's no one," Sarah answered with another nervous laugh. 

Mr. Day scowled at the two of them. "Really? That's not what you said last night," he told her, looking at Jim with another nasty look. Maria's eyes widened as she quickly looked away from them, worried that she was arousing suspicion. 

"Sorry, can you take this somewhere else?" she asked them politely. They all turned their heads toward her, giving her a look. She smiled sheepishly. "I just have a lot of work to do and I'm sure you do too." The three of them sighed and stood up, heading towards the door. "Not you, Sarah."

Sarah stopped in her tracks, turning around and sitting back down in front of Maria. "Why didn't you tell me?" Maria asked her sadly. "I'm just asking you not as your boss, but as your friend. Why didn't you tell me?"

Sarah shrugged. "I just knew you'd get mad at me," she told her with a sigh. Maria crossed her arms, looking in her friend's eyes. "Not just as a boss, but as a friend. I know how you feel about some of the teachers here."

Maria chuckled quietly. "I don't mind Jim so much, I guess," she admitted, shrugging. They both laughed quietly. "I'm sorry you feel that way. Like you've said to me before, I guess I'm pretty jealous of you." 

"Then you should start dating John, or at least talk to him," Sarah suggested with a wink. Maria shook her head without hesitation. 

"No," she told her. "Dating at work is too much drama. We found that out just barely!" Sarah laughed out.

"You're one of the most non-problematic people I know. And John seems like a really sweet guy. Just go for it."

Maria shook her head again. "No. Never." Just then, there was another knock on her door. "Come on in!" Her heart started racing as she saw John step inside. He smiled brightly as he saw her, making her cheeks grow red as she smiled back. "Hi J- Mr. Entwistle. What brings you here?"

"I just wanted to finalize the plans for the concert with you and Principal Adams," he answered. Sarah offered him the seat next to her (mainly so he would get closer to Maria), which he took. Maria gave Sarah a brief glare before looking back at John with a sweet smile.

"Yes, I've talked to him about it. He's just fine with it."

"Brilliant," John said, smiling at her. Sarah watched the couple the entire time, studying their every move. Maria tried not to notice as she smiled back at John. "So..when's the auditorium free?"

"Oh," Maria said, quickly looking away from him and pulling out a binder. Sarah got more comfortable in her seat, smirking at them both. John didn't notice; he was spending too much time staring at Maria. "It looks like it's free everyday this week."

"Terrific," he said with another smile. "Thank you very much."

"You're welcome very much," Maria replied. She blushed once she realized how stupid she sounded. "I mean..we're excited to hear you all perform."

"You've got some really talented kids here," John told her. "They're really sweet kids, too."

Maria smiled at him. Honestly, could he get any more perfect? "I couldn't agree more," she told him. They both looked at each other in silence for a moment, smiling at each other. As cute as it was to watch, Sarah decided to intervene. 

"John, what are you doing for lunch today?" she asked him. 

"I wasn't really planning anything," he answered. "I still don't know the teachers here very well." 

Sarah gave Maria a look, making her blush again. "Maybe you could get to know some of the people here a little bit better," she suggested nonchalantly, looking back at John. Maria was screaming every swear word she could think of inside her head. 

"That's a good idea," John nodded. "Maria, are you busy during lunch today?"

Maria's heart raced. She wanted so badly to spend more time with him, but she knew one way or another something would go wrong. Being too shy, she also didn't want to embarrass herself any further. "Actually, I am," she lied, looking around her empty desk. "I've just got..so much to do."

John's smile faded slowly as he nodded his head. "I see," he said. He stood up, smiling quickly at her. "Maybe some other time." He left the room, leaving Maria and Sarah alone. Sarah looked as if she was going to wring her best friend's neck.

"What?" Maria asked, laughing nervously. "I really am busy."

"No you're not!" Sarah exclaimed, throwing her head back and groaning. "Mari, you have to at least try dating him. Please?"

"No," Maria replied without skipping a beat. "He's really cute, I just don't think he's interested. Even if he was, it would never work out."

Sarah scoffed. "Are you kidding me? Did you see the way he looked at you?" Maria shook her head, making Sarah sigh. "He's definitely interested in you. I can tell."

Maria shook her head. "There's no way. He's so talented and kind and precious.. and I'm just me."

"Just you? What do you mean by that?" Sarah furrowed her eyebrows and crossed her arms.

"You know. Everyone thinks I'm really weird. And awkward."

"Don't listen to them. You're an amazing, funny, and sweet person to be around. John would be lucky to have you." Sarah smiled genuinely at her friend. 

"Thank you, that means a lot to me," Maria said, smiling back at her. "But that doesn't mean that John and I are going to start dating anytime soon."

Sarah groaned as she stood up. "Just promise you'll at least start talking to him. For me?" 

What was the harm in just talking to him? It wasn't like there was anything that would become of it. Even if there was, she'd be able to shut it down quickly. But there was something different about John. Something about him that made her so nervous that she never wanted to mess up in front of him. Even if he seemed too nice to judge her, the scary thoughts were still there. 

"I'll think about it, alright?" Maria asked. Sarah responded with a nod. "Now get to class, you're going to be late."

"Alright mom," Sarah sassed, walking out the door. Maria sighed heavily, resting her head on her desk. Once again, thoughts of John filled her head, making it difficult for her to concentrate.


	4. Chapter 4

"I really wish I got to see you at that concert last night," John told Maria sadly. Maria felt guilty; it wasn't like she had a very good reason for not being there. The real reason why she didn't go is because she didn't want to face him. Of course, she couldn't tell him that.

"I'm really sorry," she told him genuinely. It was the truth; she wish she would have been brave enough to go. "I just got..so busy, you know?" Again with the lies. But she couldn't tell him the truth just yet. 

He nodded, taking a sip of his coffee. "It's alright, I just hope I get to see you there next time," he told her with a sweet smile. She looked down at the table to hide her blush, tucking some of her hair behind her ear. 

"We'll see," she told him with a smile. She quickly finished her coffee, then went to the sink to rinse it out. Sarah quickly went to her side, giving her a look. 

"See?" she asked her with a smirk. 

Maria looked at her with furrowed eyebrows. "What are you talking about?"

Sarah rolled her eyes before looking in John's direction. He was writing something down in a small notebook, looking deep in concentration. He still looked so cute.. "He wanted you there so badly," she told her in a hushed tone. 

"That doesn't mean anything," Maria whispered. "He probably wanted every teacher there. He's new; he probably just wants some support."

"No, you know that's not true," Sarah told her, a little bit louder that time. Maria shushed her, looking around the room nervously. Luckily, John didn't look up. Or at least she thought he didn't. "He likes you. I can tell."

"Don't you think he can hear you?" Maria asked her, covering her mouth from the side so John wouldn't see her lips move. 

Sarah pushed her friend's hand down. "No, he doesn't; he's too concentrated. And I'm pretty sure he doesn't know how to read lips, either."

"Shut up," Maria sighed, pushing past her and out of the break room. 

Realizing she still had about a half an hour before her lunch break was over, she stepped into the music room. She figured that he was still too deep in concentration to leave the room and he still had thirty minutes before he even had to be in there, as well. So she sat at the piano, sighing to herself.

Why did crushing on someone have to be such a drag? Every time, no matter who it was or what she did, something always went wrong. Somehow she always managed to embarrass herself in front of them. Whatever. Being single was clearly the best thing for her.

She fiddled around with some of the notes on the piano, not playing any particular song. The notes were sharp and clear, almost sounding like bells. Then, she flipped through one of the music books stacked on the floor. When she came to a song that looked easy enough to play, she rested it on the stand and began to play.

It had been a while since she practiced the piano, so she was a bit rocky at first. Trying to remember which notes were flat and regular, doing her best to reach the other keys to play the chords. After a while, she felt that she was getting the hang of it. She got so lost in the music, she didn't even care if she sounded good or not.

Once her first song was over, she flipped through the book again. Finding a more difficult song, she studied the page and began to play again. Back in the day, playing the piano actually used to be a good relaxation tool for her. It helped her to relieve stress and detox quite often. 

When she finished playing the second song, she took a small break to relax her hands. "You sound really good," a voice said from behind. She jumped, accidentally playing a few discordant notes loudly. She turned around and saw John smiling at her. "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you."

"No, it's alright," she blushed, brushing some of her hair. "I'm sorry you had to hear that. I haven't played in so long." 

"No, don't apologize," he said, coming closer to her. She tried not to blush even more as he stood next to her. "You sounded wonderful. I didn't even know you played the piano."

"Well, it's been a while," she admitted with a laugh. "I used to love it. Not so much anymore, though."

"You sound like you've been playing for a long time. Have you?"

She shrugged her shoulders. "Not really, I haven't been playing nearly as long as you have. I only started when I was fourteen."

He nodded and smiled at her. "Still, that's something. That's really impressive."

"That means a lot coming from you," she told him sweetly. She blushed as he smiled sweetly at her. "I'm so sorry, I should probably leave. I didn't mean to steal your classroom-"

"Don't worry about it," he laughed, sitting next to her on the bench. She felt her heart race; she had never been that close to him before. She tried not to think about how she would probably never would be that close to him again. "Do you know any duets?"

She thought for a moment. "Chopsticks, and that's basically it." They both laughed.

"I'll teach you another one," he said, pulling out a book from his pile on the floor. He flipped through the book, then when he found one to his taste, he set it down. She studied the notes for a moment, then gave him a nervous look. 

"I don't know if I can play this one," she told him with a laugh.

He quickly shook his head. "No. You're really talented, you can do this." He gave her a reassuring smile. She blushed once again and smiled as they both started playing their own parts. Her fingers slipped a bit at first, but to her surprise, he didn't laugh at her. He waited for her to catch up, then continued playing with her.

They both smiled at each other as they listened to the music they were playing. Maria tried not to blush as she felt his eyes on her, worried that she was going to do something wrong. She did her best to ignore it and concentrate on her part.

Once they were done, they smiled brightly at each other. "See what I said? You're really talented. You just need to believe in yourself," he told her sweetly. 

Maria tried not to blush uncontrollably. "Thank you," she said, staring in his eyes. There was no way to describe them. They were the most beautiful eyes she had ever seen in her life. She felt as though she could stay this way forever; staying close with him, talking with him, getting lost in his eyes..

Just then, the bell rang, scaring the daylight out of her. He laughed softly, which made her even more embarrassed (although she knew he wasn't doing it to be rude). "I should go," she said, standing up from the bench. "Thank you for this, it was really fun."

"Of course," he answered. "But you can stay if you like! If you don't have any work to do. We're trying to write a song of our own, and we'd really like a second opinion on it."

"I would love to, but I have so much work to do," she said. This time, it wasn't completely a lie. "I'm sure whatever song you write will be wonderful." Like you.

John nodded, trying not to look disappointed again. A common occurrence for him, he was quickly discovering. "Thank you," he said with a sweet smile. "Maybe next time."

"Of course," she said, smiling back at him. Her heart fluttered as she looked at him. Then, she snapped out of her trance. "See you later." Before he could respond, she was out the door. 

What a girl.


	5. Chapter 5

Maria was rushing through the halls, hardly paying attention to her surroundings. She had slept in that morning and barely had any time to do her makeup, so she grabbed what she could and stuffed it in her purse. As she walked briskly, she dug through her purse, trying to find her eyeliner before she bumped right into somebody. John. Of course.

"I am so sorry!" she exclaimed. They both bent down to organize and pick all of the papers that had fallen to the ground. 

"Don't worry!" he reassured her. "You don't have to apologize at all." 

She stood up with a few of his papers, which she soon discovered were music sheets, in hand when the title of one of them caught her eye. "What's Boris the Spider?" she asked with a smile. "I've never heard of that."

"It's something me and the kids are working on," he answered, smiling brightly. "It's fun getting to write songs with them; they love it."

"It sounds like a great song," she told him. "I'd really love to hear it."

"You can come listen to us if you like," he offered. "It's still a bit of a work in progress, but they really like how it's turning out."

Maria nodded and grinned. "You know what, sure. I'd love to." He grinned as he turned down the hallway with her, leading her into the music room. When they went inside, Maria was surprised at what she saw. Usually when she walked into a classroom, the kids were talking loudly and messing around. Instead, the children were tuning their instruments and practicing their own parts of whatever music he assigned to them. 

Maria looked at John in awe. "You're a miracle worker," she laughed, making John blush. 

"And you're too kind," he said. He picked up his bass guitar, plugging it into one of his amps. He brought it to the front of the class and spoke up. "Good morning, class. Miss Davis wants to hear one of our songs, is that alright?"

All the children nodded in excitement and got their instruments ready. "What song are we playing?" a girl with red hair and glasses asked John. 

"She wants to hear Boris," he answered, tuning up his bass guitar. Maria eagerly waited, watching as all of the children got their sheet music out. John gave her a smile before counting down and beginning to play the starting riff. Some of the students had guitars, so they played along with him. One student was on the drums, and the rest had other miscellaneous instruments.

"Look, he's crawling up my wall. Black and hairy, very small. Now he's up above my head, hanging by a little thread." Maria couldn't stop smiling as she heard John sing along with all of the students. Everyone looked so happy to be there and be involved. "Now he's dropped on to the floor, heading for the bedroom door. Maybe he's as scared as me. Where's he gone now, I can't see."

Once again, John played the riff from the beginning of the song. Something about his playing was so different from anything else she had ever heard. He moved his fingers so fast, but the notes were still so clear. "He's come to a sticky end. Don't think he will ever mend. Never more will he crawl 'round, he's embedded in the ground. Boris the spider. Boris the spider."

As the last notes rang out, Maria stood up and clapped her hands for them. "That was absolutely fabulous!" she told them. "You are all so talented!"

John, as well as all of the children, smiled brightly at her. "What do you say to Miss Davis?" John asked them.

"Thank you, Miss Davis!" they all exclaimed in unison. 

"You're welcome, you deserve it!" she told them. "All of you do, you sound great."

"Do you have any notes for us?" John asked her. 

"Well, I really liked the lyrics," she said to them. Then, she turned to John. "I thought they were very clever. I also really liked the riff that you played at the beginning."

"This one?" he asked before playing it again, making no mistakes. 

Maria nodded and smiled. "Yes, that one. I think it's great. Overall, it's just a fabulous song." 

"Thank you," John said. Some of the kids giggled quietly as they stood there, smiling at each other. When Maria realized this, she blushed and turned away. 

"Thank you for having me," she said to everyone. She turned to John again with a smile. "Keep up the great work."

His cheeks slowly turned pink. "Thank you again," he said to her before she walked out. When she got to her office, she groaned as she realized that she forgot to put her makeup on.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you all like the twist I put on Boris the Spider <3
> 
> Also this chapter is pretty short, sorry about that-


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